Afghan Presidential Front-Runner Gets More Backing

June 14 Runoff Pits Former a Foreign Minister Against Former Finance Minister

KABUL—Former warlord
Ismail Khan,
Afghan parliamentary leaders and other rivals announced their support for the presidential campaign of
Abdullah Abdullah
on Tuesday, giving the front-runner another boost ahead of next week's runoff election.

The June 14 runoff is pitting Mr. Abdullah, a former foreign minister, against former finance minister
Ashraf Ghani.
Mr. Abdullah secured 45% of some 6.5 million votes cast in the first round of elections in April, followed by Mr. Ghani at 31.6%.

The election, which President
Hamid Karzai
isn't allowed to contest, would mark the first democratic transfer of power in Afghanistan's history. Mr. Ghani is an ethnic Pashtun, like most leaders in Afghan history, whereas Mr. Abdullah is of mixed Tajik and Pashtun heritage, and is a former of aide of legendary Tajik commander
Ahmad Shah Massoud.

In recent weeks, Mr. Abdullah has been steadily gathering the endorsements of his Pashtun rivals from the April 5 first round of the election. He already secured the backing of former foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul, who finished third in the race; of Mr. Karzai's brother Mahmood; and of another presidential candidate, former Kandahar and Nangarhar Gov.
Gul Agha Shirzai.

The politicians who backed him on Tuesday were from the team of former Islamist warlord
Abdul Rasoul Sayyaf,
another Pashtun who finished fourth on April 5, with 7% of the national vote. Mr. Khan, the former ruler of Afghanistan's western Herat province and a Tajik, was Mr. Sayyaf's vice-presidential candidate.

"Today we have gathered here to endorse our support for our holy warrior brother Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and save this land from disaster," Mr. Khan said at a packed news conference hosted at a wedding hall in Kabul, speaking underneath neon lights ringing a large, spaceship-like crystal chandelier.

In the first round, the Sayyaf-Khan ticket won 13.8% of votes in populous Herat, against 61.2% by Mr. Abdullah.

"With the support of Mr. Sayyaf's team, our victory is ensured. We are grateful to the people for the trust they have given us," said Mr. Abdullah, taking the podium after Mr. Khan to chants of "Allahu akbar," Arabic for "God is great."

Mr. Sayyaf, an Islamist who invited al Qaeda's leadership to operate out of Afghanistan in the 1990s, wasn't present at the event and didn't publicly endorse Mr. Abdullah.

A close aide to Mr. Sayyaf said the politician will not support any candidate in the runoff and "preferred neutrality."

"The people of Afghanistan will vote for a candidate's policies and programs, rather than traditional or jihadi leaders," said
Abdul Ali Mohammadi,
Mr. Ghani's spokesman. Mr. Abdullah's team maintains their candidate is popular for his policies as well as his past as part of the mujahedeen who rose up against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, and later fought the Taliban.

Mr. Mohammadi added that Mr. Ghani's team is more concerned about fraud in the coming polls and possible bias by Afghan officials in charge of enabling the election, such as police chiefs and provincial governors.

Messrs. Abdullah and Ghani are crisscrossing Afghanistan in last-minute campaigning ahead of the June 14 vote. Mr. Abdullah traveled to the volatile province of Ghazni Tuesday for an election rally, while Mr. Ghani headed to northern Balkh province, a stronghold of his rival.